Repercussions
by Trixfan
Summary: Book four - Jim and Trixie have been found! What are the repercussions for them, their friends and family and finally the insidious one's who put them in The Hell Hole?
1. Chapter 1

_**Nine months before Trixie and Jim's unearthing**_-

'Well,' Missy waited with impatience, as she looked at the blond, cropped man seated behind Matthew Wheelers impressive desk, 'what do you think?'

'Over all,' Mart stated blandly, handing back the copy of her screen play, 'I liked it.'

'But…' she demanded, a theatrical eyebrow rose. 'I came to you for a critical analysis, not Mr Peter Jones.'

'Please don't try blackmail, Missy,' the comment drew a smile from Mart. He'd underestimated Di's partner. Few knew his Journalistic alter ego. She'd been smart enough to figure it out, which left Mart in a dilemma. Who else would put the pieces together in the right order and make the same assumption. 'You know I'm returning to school this semester to start my Masters,' his azure gaze speared the actress. 'Honey and I have discussed it, which means my girlfriend told Di. By association you must also know.'

'You won't help me then?' Missy looked disappointed.

'I didn't say that either,' Mart hedged, considering his options carefully. 'I've just completed a four year degree in two and a half by taking full semesters over the summer.' He didn't mention his almost full time job writing freelance under his assumed name. It gave him the financial freedom to afford his education, board and living expenses. While he'd never be in the economic class of Matthew Wheeler, he now held his head well and truly above water. 'I'm taking on Masters by coursework and intend to finish it by the time Honey graduates school.'

'Would,' Missy teased, 'there be a reason for this timing?'

'Not that I'm willing to discuss at this point in time,' Mart mock growled back.

Taking a sharp breathe in to stop the laughter bubbling up, Missy understood the unspoken agreement between the young lovers. 'So,' Melissa tried not to sound disappointed, 'it's a matter of time?'

'I didn't say that either,' Mart's face broke out into a huge smile. 'I'd like to re-write it.'

'Why?' Missy asked, confused by the sudden turnaround in his attitude. It took a while to realise Martin Belden had been playing with her.

'I like it. It gets the message across in yet another form. Honey and I have kept the details limited due to the political pressures on her father. We can only rock the boat so much before it affects Mr Wheelers career,' Mart leant in, lowering his voice so his companion needed to move closer, 'I want your play to include more politics and intrigue. I want to tell the real story in a way the audience will appreciate. I want more than them enjoying a quiet night out at the theatre. I need them to experience the emotions everyone involved with Jim and Trixie's abduction has felt over the last three years.'

'You want to make this a hit,' shock covered Missy's face.

'I want you to produce and direct the play about the disappearance of my sister and Honey's brother,' Marts voice grew stronger with each word. 'I want the public to understand the events leading up to their abduction. I want the political fallout to incite people's conscious. What I want more than anything is for this play to be a Broadway hit so no one else ever has to face years not knowing what happened to their family.'

Blinking, Missy nodded, too stunned to form an answer. She'd come to Mart with her script because he'd majored in journalism and literature. At best, Melissa hoped he read the screen play, point out any inconsistencies, and critique it. 'Before,' she managed past a lump in her throat, 'I only suspected you might be Peter Jones, but you actually are.'

The offer drew together snippets, made sense of odd comments and forced a realisation she should have made years ago. Lifting a hand to her mouth, Missy stated in an awed tone, 'I should have realised sooner. I should have seen the similarities in your personality and your socio-political writing. Oh,' she hesitated as she realised the calibre of the journalist willing to help her put together a screen play.

'Honestly,' Mart eyed the young woman.

'The comment about blackmail,' at a loss for words she waved her hand in the air. He got the picture. She'd been cajoling him into helping.

'Apart from my family and the Wheeler's, you're the only person to know,' Mart's tone took on a wary timber. He'd walked into a trap of his own making. He'd be unable to write the play under his own name and gain the same level of general public support.

'Perhaps it's time your alter ego diversified his interests,' Missy commented, easily reading his expression, 'into the arts. A well known name on the program would be enough to get the funding for a short run.'

'I intend much more than that,' Mart promised.

In the following months he delivered. Furiously working over a single weekend, he more than edited the play. Adding the extra material he believed the scrip needed to make it a hit, he took it to someone able to fund the project.

'Are you sure,' Matthew Wheeler sat in his office, green eyes raking over the young man requesting support for a very controversial project in the months leading up to 2012 election, 'you want to take this on, with everything else?'

'Yes,' the determination in his expression all the Senator needed.

A week later, Missy found a theatre off, off Broadway and casting began. A month later the first dress rehearsal commenced. At the same time, Mart encouraged critics he knew by sending them opening night tickets. Coming from Mr Peter Jones with a personalised note to take a look, they all turned up to their front row seats.

'Well,' Matthew Wheeler eyed the young man entering the breakfast room in his New York apartment, 'last night went well.'

'We got in about three this morning,' Honey yawned, watching Mart move towards her. 'The after show party went a little later than I expected so I let you sleep. Your parents and Brian have gone out for the morning. We're meeting them for lunch at one.'

'I think,' Matthew teased, placing his coffee cup on the table, 'Mart's more interested in the reviews.'

Martin Belden's eyes locked with his mentors. Noticing a pile of local papers on the table, the three people enjoying the morning sun already scanned the criticisms. 'Just tell me,' he hesitated before slipping into his place.

Opening the New York Times on the table beside his empty plate, Matthew began to read –

* * *

_**Abducted.**_

**_I didn't feel this quirky little play rated a mention or a review, not even with free front row tickets. It seemed to be yet another offering about the disappearance of a young woman from her home. I almost decided not to go, until I noticed the screen play had been written by Paul Jones. Now I'm not a fan of this particular journalist's socio-political style but it picked my interest enough to see how he took such a hum drum concept and made a three act play from it._**

**_My attention wondered before the curtain rose. Mr Matthew Wheeler, his wife, daughter and the yet to be named son-in-law, sat three seats away, drawing obvious conclusions about the intent of the play. I wished I'd stayed at home for that re-run of, well anything. Mentally preparing a scathing review, my notice caught by a most usual opening. Two men, dressed in black pranced down the aisles with machine guns, shouting for the audience to take cover. The material obscuring the stage disappeared to display a villa in South America. In the first scene half the cast were killed. The opening gritty, political and unexpected, needless to say, it captured my attention. How could this possibly tie in with the abduction of Trixie Belden and James Frayne?_**

**_It became obvious as the first act ensued. A touching scene in a young innocent girl's bedroom as the mother and best friend give us an emotionally packed glimpse into the life of the relatives left behind to cope with the tragedy. The next two acts politically charged, making us feel for the perpetrator as we see the plight behind his actions. He too is being manipulated._**

**_Not a stone left unturned, yet the young woman at the centre of this amazing and quirky play is only seen in a photo sitting by her bed, the young man also in the frame. It is a poignant reminder that this maybe all the family will ever have of their loved ones. Which begs the question, who really wrote this play? It had to be someone with an intimate knowledge of both the Wheeler and Belden families' plight, someone able to tell the story in a politically savvy way. An individual with the experience and knowledge of the events the public is as yet unaware of. Even the director/producer can be linked back to the initial incident. She is the girlfriend of Diana Lynch, friend of Trixie Belden and Honey Wheeler. It's not hard to track the funding for this production either. Which leaves only one principle player, Martin Belden, brother to Trixie and best friend of James. Could this young Columbia graduate in Journalism actually be the award winning writer, Mr Peter Jones? Personally I see the similarities._**

**_Did I like it, immensely. Even though prepared to hate it, I have to give this play by Mr Peter Jones four and a half stars. I'll be booking a ticket to ensure I didn't miss anything the first time around._**

* * *

'Well,' Mart frowned, 'I guess my alter ego's been outed.'

'Is that all you have to say,' Mrs Wheeler grinned, 'with a review like that.'

'I knew it'd be a hit,' Mart looked up. 'I sent Graham the tickets personally. I'd just hoped I could keep my identity secret until I finished my masters.'

'It could make life at college interesting,' Matthew commented, rising to answer the telephone. When he returned to the table, the agitation in his body language affected the entire group.

'What is it, Daddy,' Honey asked.

'You may have to write a second instalment,' Senator Wheeler's hoarse voice managed, 'because they've just been found.'

'Trixie,' Mart's face turned white as a sheet.

'Jim,' Honey screamed, flying into her boyfriend's arms and sobbing with joy.

Grace stood, maintained her poise and approached her husband. Tears clouding the corners of her eyes, she asked, 'where?'

Neck muscles tight, the expression on his face fighting for control, Matthew shook his head, unable to answer. She understood, the news hadn't all been good. The shock of what he'd learnt taking its toll. Immediately going into damage control, she opened her mobile phone to call the Belden's back to the apartment.

Sobering, Honey suddenly realised her father hadn't said alive. Looking into Mart's azure eyes, his fear palatable, she swallowed. 'Are,' she managed, 'they alive?'

* * *

OK after you waiting so patiently – I just had to leave this on a major cliff hanger. I'm on chapters two and three now. I promise the wait won't be long.


	2. Chapter 2

Some of you may be asking why I put the Honey/Mart chapter first. Any of you who follow my work will know there is always a reason. I'm going to say sorry in advance – read on to find out why!

* * *

'Hastings,' bellowed Lt Tom Newton. Gaining his second's attention, he used hand gestures to communicate.

Pausing half way down the sheer rock face, the young soldier nodded his understanding. He had ten minutes before the choppers arrived to medivac the civvies in the hole. Corporal Harvey must have been on the blower to command, organising the rescue. Until then Private First Class Michael Hasting would be their only support. Glancing over his shoulder at the young couple, he wanted to shake his head with bewilderment.

They looked like something out of the Stone Age, he decided as his feet hit the hard packed dirt and he got a decent look at them. Closer now, they couldn't be more than twenty. Wondering how in hells name they got down here, Mike returned his attention to the job at hand. Surveying the area, he noted the cultivated space. They'd been trapped a while and at least one of them had survival skills. This place felt lived in.

'I,' swallowing hard, Trixie worked her way through a mounting contraction, one hand clutching at Jim's shoulder, the other her rippling belly.

Remembering the fifteen hours of labour for Jamie's birth, she suspected this would be a lot quicker and milder. Missing the initial stages altogether while working in the vegetable patch, silently she counted to twenty before the pain started to subside. Now she had to concentrate on the length between the waves. The closer they got, the less time she'd have.

'What,' Jim looked at her face and knew she counted. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the young soldier half way down the wall. 'It won't be long, Trix,' her husband soothed, attempting to calm his limpet of a son at the same time, 'and we'll have help this time.'

'Not me,' Trixie pointed to the child in Jim's arms. 'Jamie's terrified. He's never seen anyone but us. Just the sight of a man climbing down the wall is scaring him.'

Trying to get her message across by pointing to their dreadlocked hair, bodies coloured brown by the soil and naked appearance, Jim finally understood his son's unusual reaction. The fully kitted out, close cropped soldier beyond the child's experience, he whimpered softly, hiding his head beneath his father's arm. Automatically, Jim's hand traced gentle, calming circles on his back.

A shiver of apprehension ran the length of Beatrix Frayne's spine. They'd been down here, alone for three and a half years. While the sight of another human being brought a sense of relief, it also produced trepidation, especially in their young son who'd never know anything else but this enclosed quiet world.

'How's he going to cope,' Trixie found tears clouding her vision. 'He's been constrained in this space all his life. We've become so use to living in a cage. It scares me, the thought of open space and other people. I can't imagine what's going through our child's mind.'

'Trix,' Jim's eyes implored, 'we both need to keep our emotions under control or it'll upset Jamie even more. You've got enough to cope with,' he stated, green eyes going to her belly.

'I'm trying, Jim,' she answered, understanding the subtle anxiety in her husband's body language. Both wondered at the timing of this sudden rescue. Running out of food, all the problems they'd experienced and now the hope of being liberated, it seemed as contrived as their original placement in the hole. 'I just can't help thinking, if we really are someone's insurance, they need us alive.'

'I'm grateful to be getting out of here,' Jim nodded his understanding, 'but I'm not going to give them anything until I know this isn't a hoax.'

'Hey,' Mike, his feet finally on the ground, called attention to his presence. Racing over to the couple almost in the dead centre of the enclosed space, he could hear the kid start bawling. 'We've got to move you,' he ordered, still ten feet away, pointing to the edge of the hole. 'Chopper will be her in a couple of minutes and needs the space to land.'

'Your noise is frightening my son,' Jim's temper flared, forcing Jamie further into his embrace. Using the last of his reserves, James Frayne rose to his feet unsteadily. Finally the adrenalin he'd been living on for the last days ran dry.

Trixie, starting yet another contraction, helped as much as she could. Taking the opportunity, Jamie leapt into his mother's embrace, almost knocking both parents to the ground with his sudden and unexpected movement. The young medic noticed the pained expression on her face and connected the dots.

'Mama, Mama,' Jamie cried piteously as Trixie tried to console him.

'Are you all right ma'am,' Mike offered in a quieter tone. The child's petrified gaze stopped Hastings from offering assistance to the woman.

'I'm in labour,' Trixie admitted slowly, 'but Jim needs your help. I don't know the last time he ate.'

'I'm fine,' Jim growled, the stumble in his step negating his independent stance. One look from his wife and he allowed the soldier to help him towards the towering cliffs of their prison.

Deciding not to ask questions, Mike used the minimal contact to make observations on the family. The man, emaciated, he needed an IV and glucose filled fluids immediately but finding a vein would be difficult. The child looked and sounded healthy enough. Obviously they'd gone without to ensure the kids survival. The woman appeared to be in better shape, but not by much. For someone about to give birth, she seemed more worried about the men in her life.

'My name is Michael Hasting. The guys in my squad call me Big Mike,' the soldier belatedly introduced himself. He hoped to gain their trust. The quick look between the pair stating it might take some doing. 'You're lucky the lieutenant heard you shouting earlier, or we might have passed you by.'

Trixie nodded, as her latest contraction reached a crescendo. 'Bad,' Jim observed, watching her expression and effectively ignoring the soldier. She nodded, clutching Jamie, apprehensive she might drop him. Unable to stay in his own feet, Jim fell to the ground the moment they reached the designated area.

Reaching around to his pack, Mike took out emergency rations. Handing the young man a bar, he suggested, 'eat is slowly if you've been going without food. I have water here too. I need to radio this in, Jim,' Hasting's used the man's name in an attempt to get more information. 'Is there anyone we can contact, to let them know where you are?'

Once again a meaningful look transpired between the two. Mike new he'd get nothing out of them for the moment. Whatever happened to put them in the hole, it had to be bad for this level of mistrust. At least the kid stopped crying, eyeing him suspiciously from under his mother's mattered hair.

'Yes,' Jim answered, deliberately opening the bar and chewing.

'How far apart are you contractions, Ma'am,' Mike tried a different approach.

Shrugging, Trixie guessed, 'two minutes, maybe less. Our watches stopped working a while back.'

'Lt Newton,' Mike became slightly panicked. He might have trained to deliver a baby, but he'd never actually gotten the chance in reality. Unwilling to make this the first, he succinctly informed his squad leader of the situation.

'You should be able to hear the choppers any second now,' Tom informed. No sooner had he handed the radio back to Nick Harvey than the whoop, whoop, whoop of blades rent the air.

That's when all hell broke loose. Unable to land two helicopters in the confined space, one circled while the other touched down. The noise became deafening as shouting joined the commotion. A door on the rear of the machine flew back and six individuals leaped out. Dressed in army greens carrying a stretcher between them they marched quick time to the waiting medic.

The moment the sound and vibration became evident, Jamie's wails started up again. Unable to cope with his sudden tantrum and yet another contraction, this one the worst yet, the child slipped out of her grasp. Jim caught him, cradling his head in an attempt to stop him seeing or hearing the disturbance. He knew it to be a losing battle but one he had to fight to save his son's sanity, and quite possibly his own.

It didn't work. Strange men in army fatigues surrounded them, terrifying the child further. Without thought for the trials and tribulations the family had suffered, they separated Trixie. Medics rushed in to assess her condition.

'Ma'am,' the lone female in the group managed above the noise, at least the chopper had powered down leaving only the sound of the circling bird in the sky, 'we need to get you to a hospital now.' The worried expression on her face spoke volumes. After taking a blood pressure and listening for a foetal heartbeat, she used hand signals to tell her crew to swoop and scoop. 'I'm afraid for that baby if we don't get you some medical care.'

'Jim,' Trixie tried in vain to capture his attention. Too many people stood between them.

The noise from the still spinning blades, Jamie's hysterical wails and the people surrounding her family made even eye contact impossible. Before she could agree, Trixie found herself loaded onto a gurney and strapped down against her will. The contraction beginning to fade, she started to fight. Four fatigue clad soldiers worked as a well-oiled team to lift her into the air. Carrying the stretcher to the chopper, they strapped it to a bench and took off. Becoming frenzied, Trixie felt a sharp sting in her hand. She tried to pull away, not used to the sudden and unexpected contact of another human being.

'I'm,' the medic responded, eyeing her colleague to hold down the limb so she could work, 'putting in an IV. We're going to start some fluids. You look a little dehydrated and the doctors will need to assess your condition when you get to the hospital.'

'My husband and baby,' Trixie managed.

'They'll be just fine,' the woman attempted a calm tone continuing to concentrate on her appointed task, 'it's this baby we need to be concerned about right now.'

When Trixie began to struggle, she found herself constrained by the straps. It gave the medic time to finish inserting the IV line. Taking a syringe from her co-worker, she injected the contents into the young woman's veins. Before she could utter a surprised retort, yet another set of hands placed an oxygen mask over Trixie's face. Just before she lost consciousness, the terrifying words, massive blood loss reached her ears.

'My baby,' Trixie cried, her apprehension doubled by the sudden pained expression on the medic face. It told Beatrix Frayne all she needed to know before the sedative took effect.

'Mama, Mama,' Jamie screeched, breaking away from Jim's hold.

Suddenly without his support structure, surrounded by strange looking individuals carting his mother way, the child bellowed his fury. Face red, he's mind couldn't decide whether to return to his father's safe embrace or run after his mother being lifted into a strange looking contraption. It looked like she'd been eaten by the machine which caused further hysterics.

'It's alright, little fella,' a well-intentioned marine with a son the same age picked Jamie up. Using his teeth to best advantage, the fifteen month old bit, hard. Breaking skin, the soldier returned in a severe tone, 'we don't bite. Use your words.'

Jamie stopped dead, looking into the man's eyes he realised he wasn't that frightening. 'Mama, Mama,' he started to cry in earnest, fat tears rolling down his cheeks.

'She's going to the hospital to have your little brother or sister,' he explained. 'See the helicopter is taking off now.'

'Dada, Dada,' Jamie reached out towards Jim. He understood the strange thing had his mother in its belly and thought he'd never see her again. Now the only familiar object, his father, had been surrounded by these strangers who wouldn't leave him alone. As one helicopter took off, another landed. In the child's mind, he made the link. Soon the other strange thing would take his father away.

'Give me my son,' Jim bellowed above the noise, attempting to stand. He needed the support of two burly men. However the marine holding Jamie complied immediately. 'No one is to touch this child,' green eyes lanced the group like a laser beam. Folded into his father, Jamie finally stopped keening. 'He's never seen anyone but my wife and I,' Jim attempted to explain in a quieter voice. Even he felt overwhelmed after all the time they had spent alone and trapped.

'Jim,' Mike had stayed at the young man's side, 'this is Dr Daniel Casey. He's going to take over the care of you and your son.'

'I'd like to give your son a sedative,' the doctor at Jim's elbow soothed. Making a motion to the others surrounding them, they all took several steps away. 'It will help calm him, and then I want to examine both of you.'

'My son's fine, both Trix and I made sure he always came first,' Jim stated firmly.

'I can see that,' Daniel smiled, mentally taking in the snippets of information. 'He looks healthy. How old is he?'

Shrugging his shoulders, Jim guessed, 'fifteen months. Are you sure he needs an injection? I don't like the idea of subjecting him to anything else that's unfamiliar. He'd frightened enough now.'

'Your little boy's birth,' the doctor asked carefully, 'I assume occurred here, in The Hell Hole?'

Nodding, James Frayne realised the almost moribund child in his arms needed a break from the overwhelming physical stimulation. Jamie backed away from the needle. His little green eyes held a mix of terror and pleading. Jim cuddled him tightly and spoke soothing words. With the child's attention completely taken by his father, the medic administered the medication.

Watching the light in his little green eyes fade, Jamie appeared to be sleeping. When one of the medics offered to take him, a shake of Jim's head became enough to refuse. With the continued support of a man on either side, the group walked towards the waiting chopper.

'Where are you taking us,' Jim finally asked, strapped and seated in the craft. The excitement taking his toll, he wanted to know what happened to Trixie.

'_Fort Eustis Hospital,' a medic offered, hooking Jim up at a drip, 'it's a twenty minute trip.'_

_'If you don't mind,' the doctor interrupted his voice loud to get over the noise but not unkind, 'I'd like to ge_t some details. How long were you in The Hell Hole?'

While Daniel had Jim's attention, he'd ordered the medic to administer a sedative. They'd be able to do a much better analysis with the overprotective father asleep. If he read the situation correctly, he had a very good idea of the true identity of the young pair.

'A couple of years,' Jim hesitated, wondering at the sudden interest. Holding Jamie more fiercely, James Frayne's head began to swim. They'd given him something but he knew he had to fight it, to stay awake.

'How did you and your family get trapped down there?' queried the doctor.

'We didn't,' Jim found the truth spilling from his mouth. Clamping it close, he refused to say more. Both he and Trixie decided not to say anything until they could ensure Jamie's safety. Any of these people could be involved with the initial abduction. Learning of their son's existence, Jim didn't want to think of the consequences.

'What's your name?' Becoming frustrated, Daniel tried to keep the annoyance from his tone.

'Jim,' he found himself saying in a whisper, 'James Frayne,'

'And the young woman with you?' Daniel knew he had only seconds before the sedative took effect to ensure the identity of his patient.

'Trixie Fra….Belden,' Jim stumbled over the name they hadn't used for years. The pounding in his head forcing him concentrate harder to give as little information as possible. 'What have you done with my wife,' Jim suddenly demanded, his heart starting to pound in his chest. Apprehension for her welfare at the forefront of his mind, he challenged, 'why did you separate us?'

'Your,' stumbling over the fact common law marriages didn't exist in Virginia, Daniel played along with the young man's delusion, 'wife's condition required specialist care we don't have at the base. The other chopper took her to the nearest maternity hospital. After you and your son are rested and cleaned up, we'll reunite you.'

The threatening haze finally overcame Jim. As the darkness descended, he felt a strange sensation in the middle of his chest. After living rough, all this excitement became too much for his system to cope with. _How is Jamie going to manage out in the real world,_ Jim's last worried thought cascaded through his mind, _when I'm having trouble being surrounded by all these people_?

Taking the toddler from his sleeping fathers' arms, the Doctor handed him over to an assistant who secured the child in a restraint. Worried about Jim's health, he ordered two of his medic's to load the father into a stretcher. The moment he capitulated to the sedative effect, Daniel attached a cardiac monitor.

Before completing his task, Dr Casey felt for a pulse. The rhythm much too fast, he demanded, 'get that monitor on him stat.'

'Tachycardia,' the medic announced.

'Fibrillation,' the doctor shouted, 'he's going into arrest. Get the adrenalin out and get us to base ASAP. I want a full medical team on standby. Senator Wheeler won't be impressed if we've found his long lost son, only to have him die before getting to the base.'

* * *

Not sorry at all for the cliff hanger, but after the extended wait, you did get almost three thousand words in this chapter. A review or two would make my day. Meet me for the next chapter coming very soon to a computer near you. I won't give you cardiac arrest waiting for the outcome – even if I do love the suspense (nursing humour!).


	3. Chapter 3

**AN** – a lot of you probably won't like me or this chapter but it comes from personal experience. I apologise if it cuts close to the bone for anyone. In this case it may be a journey or a road we've both travelled.

**AN2** – I know where **_I_** want to go with this story but Jim and Trixie have very different ideas. You might find the chapters are slow updating and then only have an infuriatingly small amount of text while the main players and I discuss the finer points of plot and subtext – I am determined to win this one. **_Jim and Trix will do as I bid!_**

* * *

_Light. Dark. Dark. Light. Dark. Dark. Light._

Trixie's hazy mind began to see the pattern forming. It took a few more repetitions to realise the ceiling above her contained florescent tubes. It felt strange. For over three years all light emanated from the sun. When the golden globe sank below the horizon, the moons illumination formed their light source and none at all in the sleeping cave. This glow, bright and harsh hurt her eyes so she closed them. Big mistake, Trixie's mind indicated as she became aware of other sensations. Dry air blew like a tornado on her face, hissing from somewhere close by. In the distance the infernal sound of people talking, air-conditioning humming, monitors beeping, cars driving by outside and finally the wails of sirens over powering everything else as they came closer. Unused to the variety of noises, she attempted to place her hands over her ears.

'Jim,' she moaned, through the mask still covering her face. Her plea went unnoticed in the rush.

Then she felt the violent movement, first to the left, then the right. The sensation of floating on air, or being wheeled on a frictionless surface caused the slight vibrations in her lower back. Slow to understand, thanks to the medications travelling around her circulatory system, tears of frustration welled. Laying on something, her back supported and the lights overhead began to make a strange kind of sense. Something covered her body, a blanket. It felt soft and warm, the first pleasant sensation since, Trixie couldn't remember. Jamie would love the feeling of cuddling into the sweet smelling pliable material. Then the multitude of odours hit her olfactory nerves. She wanted to vomit with the harsh, antiseptic stench.

'Jamie,' suddenly awareness dawned. Trixie knew where she'd been brought and more importantly why. Once again her plea for the safety of her family went unheard in the frantic momentum surrounding her.

Rough hands and unforgiving voices finally penetrated her drug induced haze. 'Lifting on three, one, two, three,' and she'd been unceremoniously dragged from her warm, comfortable bed to a cold, metallic table. The overhead light became more unforgiving and brighter causing Trixie to screw her eyes tighter in an attempt to keep it out.

'Foetal heart rate,' someone demanded loudly, the sound echoing around the room.

'120 and dropping,' the terse reply from Trixie's left as a cold round object moved to a different part of her belly. 'No time to clean her up. We'll have to work around the layers of dirt and hope the antiseptic will kill whatever bugs she's picked up.'

'The mother,' questioned the first voice. He seemed to be in charge. Something wet began to touch her belly. Realising she lay naked Trixie couldn't find the energy to lift a hand to cover she exposed flesh. Goose bumps formed and she shivered in the frigid atmosphere. 'Do we have a name yet?'

'The army medic didn't know,' a much softer voice spoke from far away. 'She's been admitted under Jane Doe. I've got the infant resuscitation unit fired up and am good to go.'

'Jane's vitals,' a voice near Trixie's head answered, 'are stable at the moment. Can I have someone over here for cricoid pressure so I can intubate. There's no time for an epidural.'

'If we don't get started soon,' again the initial person ordered, 'we won't have an infant to save. I want a neonatal retrieval team here stat. If this kid survives, it's going to need specialist care.'

Trixie took several seconds to understand. By the time fear for her child finally set into her foggy brain, yet another mask had been placed over her mouth and nose. Opening her eyes, terrified blue orbs stared up into a face covered with material.

'Breathe deeply,' requested the anaesthetist in a gentle voice. Trying her hardest to make the words form, Trixie found herself losing the battle with unconsciousness. 'She's out.'

'Foetal heart rate dropping,' the midwife stated in a terse tone as she continued to listen, 'we need to get this baby out, doctor.'

Now prepared, the general surgeon made the first cut. Five minutes later he pulled a tiny infant from its mother's womb. Handing the child off to the midwife, she cut and tied the cord. His obstetric training minimal, he had to leave the welfare of the infant to the experts but he feared the outcome. Between the midwife and paediatrician, they could give the neonate better medical care. His object tended towards the maintenance of the mother's life.

Blue, the tiny scrap of humanity didn't take a breath. Rushing it over to the prepared area, the midwife and paediatrician looked at each other. 'Too small,' they agreed.

Gasping in surprise, the surgeon shouted, 'twins, hasn't this woman had any antenatal care?'

A feeble cry split the room as the doctor lifted out a second, tiny child. 'Apgar zero at zero for baby one,' the midwife informed the room. 'We're not even going to try and resuscitate. Give me baby two.'

A nurse grabbed the child and rushed it over to the intensive care bed. 'Apgar three at zero,' the midwife sucked mucus from the nose and mouth wondering if this one had a chance. The next few minutes would prove critical. The little girl screamed her disapproval at her terrifying entry into the world then went suddenly quiet. Quickly wrapping the infant in a dipper and blanket, she handed it back to the paediatrician.

'I'm intubating,' Dr Rodger decided, 'ready the infant ventilator and get the humicrib in here stat, I don't want this little one losing any more body heat and becoming hypothermic.'

'Would,' the surgeon asked, starting to close the gaping hole in Trixie's abdomen, 'you like me to call it on Baby One.'

'No,' the midwife looked sadly at the rest of the team, 'that job falls to Rodger.'

'Baby one of Jane Doe stillborn at 10:53,' stated the Paediatrician for the record, his hands continuing to work furiously.

'This poor woman,' the midwife felt for the young woman. 'She's going to have a lot to cope with when the aesthetic wears off.'

'Pressure dropping,' the anaesthetist reported, drawing the surgeon's attention back to his patient, 'I think you got a bleeder.'

Swearing under his breath, the surgeon quickly found the problem. 'Prepare to emergency hysterectomy. How's that baby doing?'

'Apgar six at five minutes and improving,' the midwife looked down at the child. 'We're supplementing with oxygen but this infant needs a neonatal intensive care unit.'

'I'd say,' Rodger guessed by the size and development, 'they're no more than thirty three weeks. Do we have an ETA on the retrieval team?'

'Ten minutes,' one of the nurses offered. 'They wanted to know if we're medevac'ing the mother too.'

'If she's stable enough,' the surgeon grimaced. 'By the time they're here, I should know.'

* * *

'Paddles,' Dr Casey demanded, 'we don't need them yet, he's not in a shockable rhythm but I want to be prepared if this goes down.' In his head, he considered the advance life support algorhythm consisting of the five H's and T's. Dismissing most of them as impossible, Daniel had to wonder at the emaciated condition of his patient. 'Push 5mmol of potassium stat and get the mini-jet of calcium carbonate ready. What's his BSL?' At the answer, Daniel nodded at the glucose his assistant held up for his inspection. 'Follow it up with a bag of 5% with KCl.'

No one actually used paddles. Yet another medic understood the archaic term and rolled the super thin foam pads over their patient's chest. In manual mode, Dr Casey would decide when to shock the young man. Holding off, even though his heart rate continued to climb, another set of hands injected a clear liquid directly into the IV line.

'BP's dropping with the lack of cardiac output,' muttered the doctor under his breath continuing to scrutinise the monitor. Turning to a medic he began to order, 'let's start some vasopressors…'

Grinning back, the young man held up a bag. 'I'll get you to sign for it when we land. All I need it the rate.'

'Start slow and I'll get an arterial line,' Daniel began looking for the radial artery. On his left the well trained soldier prepared the equipment he'd need.

As the medications circulated in Jim's system, the monitor noted the change. Taking an internal breath and hoping this meant they'd passed the critical stage, Dr Casey started to secure the line. Hooking it up to the monitor, the medic grinned.

'Push another five of potassium,' Daniel ordered, sweat dripping from his brow. It seemed his intuition had been right again. Slower to respond this time, his patients heart rate and rhythm came almost back to normal. 'BP's rising so we have some cardiac output. Down time just under the four minute mark, so he might have escaped hypoxic brain injury. Looks like we might be safe,' he told the crew.

'You really think this is Senator Wheeler's son?' asked the pilot over the head set when the emergency settled.

'Yep,' the co-pilot used his smart phone to call up a picture of the missing pair. 'Thinner with more hair but that's defiantly James Winthrop Frayne II.'

'He confirmed it,' Daniel stated, moving to the child. Less concerned about the toddler, he now had the time to look him over. 'No mistaking who fathered this kid,' he remarked, gently exploring the child for obvious medical issues.

'I'll radio base,' the pilot understood the repercussions of his call. 'All hell's going to break loose once this hits the media.'

'Let's see,' Daniel took the time to look each man surrounding him in the eye, 'that none of us are responsible for that. Senator Wheeler's invested huge amounts of his fortune into finding his son. I'd hate to be the one he comes after because I opened my mouth to the wrong people.' Silently he added, _there's a whole lot more to this than meets the eye_.

Heeding the warning, Captain Daryl Westin made his report. 'ETA ten minutes to Fort Eustis,' he informed the crew. 'They'll have an emergency team waiting to receive the civvies. General Brooks want's a full report, Dr Casey, once you've handed the patients over.'

'Any word on the other e-vac team?' Daniel asked.

'They're about seven minutes behind us,' Daryl stated. 'Cargo went straight to surgery and they were ordered back to base for debrief.'

'Something stinks,' Dr Casey muttered under his breath, earning him a strange look from a young medic at his side.

General Brooks stood, stock still, eyes scanning the sky as the choppers landed. He'd been waiting in the same location for twenty minutes. Once he'd been informed of the discovery, Ronald Brooks knew his carefully crafted world would fall at his feet. Only if the young woman and man died as a result of their captivity he might escape the fall out. Senator Matthew Wheeler would ensure he got to the bottom of this. Already too close for comfort, discovery of his son would double his efforts to find the people responsible.

Four men transferred a stretcher to a gurney, rushing it off to the emergency room. When the doctor carefully climbed out of the chopper carrying a child, the General smiled. That fact escaped detection. Learning all he needed, Brooks had been around enough base hospitals to understand Jim Frayne would survive his ordeal, if only for the life of his child.

'You wanted a word,' Dr Casey asked after handing over his patients.

'What is the status of James Frayne?' Brooks enquired.

'Stable,' Daniel quirked an eyebrow, 'he'll need a prolonged hospital stay to build him up. The aborted VF arrest secondary to hypokalaemia and starvation won't leave lasting physical effects. Did you realise they'd run out of food with a child to feed? I won't even begin to catalogue the mental stress that young man's been through. As for the young woman, his Punitive Wife, I'm going to contact the county hospital.'

'Wife?' Ronald allowed surprise to enter his tone.

'Beatrix Belden went into labour,' the doctor stated. 'I only caught the swoop and scoop order over the radio so I'm as informed as you.'

'Please report to my office when you have all the details,' Brooks dismissed.

'Yes, Sir,' Daniel watched the superior officer walk away under his salute.

Entering his office Ronald knew the fate of both Jim and Trixie. A well-dressed man stood with a question in his narrow eyes. A look at the General and the words died on Senator Iraola's lips.

'Get me a secure line,' the General requested of his sectary. 'Senator Wheeler,' he offered in soft yet determined tone, 'this is General Ronald Brook at Fort Eustis. I have some news for you, not all of it good. You're son, James Frayne, has been admitted to the base hospital suffering a cardiac event. The young woman with him, he states is his wife, Trixie Belden is currently on route to Washington with her infant daughter. Both are in a critical condition.'

Iraola shook his head in agitation. _We're screwed_, his mind supplied unable to find a way out of this.


	4. Chapter 4

AN – the only way to deal with my Trixie and Jim problem is to make them secondary characters in this book. A lot of the actions will be seen from others perspectives. I hate to say it, but as this is chapter four already, and I have so much I want to write. I hope you don't mind if isn't the last book in this series. I'm considering with a fifth part called Resolutions.

* * *

'Tell me,' Honey begged her father, voice rising to an almost hysterical timber, 'are they alive.'

'I don't know,' Matthew continued to look shocked. Shaking his head to gain some perspective, he repeated, 'they're both in a critical condition. The doctor will call us back soon with more details.'

'Who,' Mart demanded, 'contacted you?'

'General Brooks,' Senator Wheeler finally managed to pull his shattered mind together. Saying the name, he remembered a private conversation with Mart a few months ago. A disgusted look covered his face as the bigger picture coalesced before him. 'I believe he's currently at Fort Eustis heading up the military games.'

'Call Tony,' growling, Mart unceremoniously dumped Honey from his knee, 'I'll be back in a few minutes. There's something I have to do.'

Grabbing his phone, Martin Belden stormed out of the breakfast room leaving behind three very confused individuals. Astonished at his behaviour, Honey's hazel eyes clouded with tears. Unsure what just transpired between her father and boyfriend, her mother's scowl deepen as her gaze speared Matthew.

'Out with it.' Grace Wheeler commanded, looking between the hallway leading to her daughters' suite and her husband. 'What have you two been keeping from us?'

The atmosphere taut with friction and unshed emotion, tempers ran short. Instead being elated at the news, the shock of anticipation set in. At the moment they had limited information. Minds tried to make links, to understand what happened, when and why.

Feeling she'd get more out of Mart, Honey started towards her bedroom. She couldn't help feeling abandoned and betrayed. Mart should have been at her side, giving and receiving comfort to the woman his professed to love. Yet at the first major watershed in their lives, he'd discarded her.

A large hand on her shoulder stopped the young woman. Shaking his head, Matthew Wheeler attempted to explain. 'Your young man has sources even I don't know about. I gave Mart the initial chance to impress the editor of a minor paper. He's gone about the investigative work and found resources on his own. It's what makes him such a good journalist. I have no idea how he uncovered the link, but Mart's managed to tie General Brooks to Jim and Trixie's abduction. It's all circumstantial evidence at this point. To tell the truth, I'm not sure why he want's Tony on this. What I do know, Honey, if Mart feels the need to include outsiders in then he has a very good reason. That young man has a reason behind ever action.'

'So,' Grace stood perfectly still, arching one eyebrow, 'are we going to Fort Eustis?'

'Yes,' Matthew sighed, the emotional impact finally catching up with him.

Looking down into the miserable eyes of his daughter, the Senator swore. At times like this he remembered how vulnerable his soft hearted child could be. Her brother and best friend's abduction created a hard shell, broken only by those closest to her. Her significant other's departure left her feeling neglected, relegated to the sick, lonely child they'd moved to Sleepyside to save.

'How,' ever practical, the tough side of the socialite few ever saw shone through. In situations like this, Grace Wheeler became formidable. She'd learnt to use her emotions to achieve her ultimate goal. 'Do you suppose we get to our son's bedside?'

'What?' Matthew turned on his wife, anger in his glowing green eyes.

'The company helicopter will be able to ferry four of us to the Westchester County airport,' Grace came to stand beside her enraged husband. He liked to have the distinction of being in charge. It irked him that she'd been the one to consider the logistics of getting them where they needed to be. 'I know everyone will want to see Jim and Trixie, but as parents, I believe Helen, Peter, you and I have priority. They are our children and I'm sure Helen feels the same way I do. I need to see Jim with my own eyes to really believe he's been returned to us.'

Nodding his understanding, Matthew included his wife in a family embrace. 'I'll call the service and have the pilot on standby.'

Swallowing hard as her mother's words hit her, Honey's tears began to stream down her face. 'Mart, Brian, Bobby and I will wait for the helicopter to return for us.'

'Connor can arrange a second aircraft with the private charter company we use,' Matthew stated, managing to put his emotions behind a stoic façade. 'The rest of the Bob Whites can travel together. Either way, we're going to be at least three hours before we arrive in Virginia.'

'You make the call,' handing her husband the phone, Grace began to prepare for the arrival of the Belden's. 'Honey,' she gave her shell shocked daughter something to keep her mind busy, 'ask Sarina to have coffee ready then give her the rest of the day off. I don't want the staff talking about what's happening. I've asked Brian to bring his parents back here immediately without informing them why. We don't want this story to hit the media while their still unaware of what's happened. Hopefully by the time they get back to the apartment we'll know more. Can you also wake Dan, Di and Missy? I'm sure they'd like to know what's going on.'

In the bedroom he shared with Honey, Mart dialled. Waiting for his trusted colleague to pick up, the young man's fingers flew over his laptops keyboard. Given what transpired, he needed information, small snippets to tie his current theory together.

'Graham,' Mart questioned as a voice sleepily answered at the other end.

'I've been expecting you,' the sometime critic sounded amused. 'Am I speaking with Martin Belden or Peter Jones?'

'Thanks for the article,' Mart managed a hint of amusement, 'but it's not your artistic alter ego I'm interested in. I'll flay him later for revealing my work. Actually, it may have worked in our favour.'

'What's happened?' the terse response understanding there had been a new development.

Like Martin Belden, Graham West began his career as a free-lance journalist while studying. He'd continued in the profession with ground breaking stories by being in the right place at the right time. It led to a career reporting for one of America's biggest networks. Critiquing Broadway started as a tongue in cheek joke because he knew nothing about the arts. Betting a fellow journalist he could do better than the uptight, too serious professionals, he soon found his reviews syndicated under an alias. Graham West had a lot in common with Martin Belden. He'd taken the young man under his wing, aiding him in the relentless search for his sister's abductors. Now, Graham shook with excitement, about to be paid back for his patience and assistance a thousand fold.

'I need you at Senator Wheeler's apartment for an exclusive,' Mart offered. 'I can't say more, but bring your camera man and make it yesterday.'

By the time Mart reappeared in the kitchen, Tony arrived from his apartment three stories below. 'Find out Senator Iraola current location,' Martin Belden ordered, his journalistic persona engaged to stop the maelstrom of emotions he felt welling at the back of his mind. Allowing his feeling free reign would make him effectively useless in catching the two men he knew to be responsible for his sister's disappearance. 'I suspect you might start with Fort Eustis and General Brook's office. I want evidence of his movements for the last four days. I'd also like information on Brook's movements over the same period.'

'Phillip's been on it for the last week,' Tony understood the reason. 'When's the media showing up?'

'Fifteen minutes, give or take,' Mart took the cup of coffee offered by a silent but stunned Honey. 'By then we should have more information. Trixie's in trouble,' shaking his head, Mart couldn't stop the feeling of impending doom.

'Mart,' Honey clung to his arm, 'what is it.'

'Nothing,' he tried to smile, but the woman at his side knew him too well. One look and he found himself confessing, 'I get the feeling she's in a very bad place.'

'How bad?' Honey demanded. When he refused to answer with anything but a shake of his head, she pulled his face within inches of her own. 'Your intuition has been accurate up until now. Tell me what you feel. I need you with me Martin Belden. We've been each other's support for the last three years. Don't do this to us now.'

'I can't face the emotion at the moment,' Mart placed the hot cup on the kitchen counter. For a minute he'd given in to the worry clouding his mind. Pulling the most important person in his life into a desperate clinch, Honey understood the level of his concern for Trixie's life.

Swallowing hard, she stated, 'you think…'

Unable to hear the words from his lover's lips, Mart kissed them. Releasing the shocked woman, they shared a private moment of utter misery before reality intruded. 'There's always hope while we don't know,' he stated, more to calm his nerves than comfort Honey. 'I'm not walking away from you Honey,' he tried to explain, 'I've tried to protect you from the worst one human can do to another because I love you so much. Don't ever think I don't.'

'Mart,' Matthew's voice called, 'Honey.'

Gazing into each other's eyes, the young couple knew they soon find out the fate of their siblings. As they rounded the corner into the informal living room, Dan, Di and Missy stood together. They dressed in a hurry.

'Your family,' Grace's tight smile informed, 'is on the way up.'

Mart could tell they'd had news. He applauded Matthew Wheelers determination to delay until Jim and Trixie's extended family could be together. Waiting impatiently, the seconds ticked by so slowly they seemed like hours. Finally, out of breath, the Belden family entered the room.

'What,' Helen held her breath, swamped by the over powering expectation in the room.

'Moms,' Mart went to his mother immediately. Taking a shoulder under each of his outstretched palms, he suggested, 'sit down.' Only when she'd complied, his father falling into the seat beside her and fear waring with hope in their eyes, Mart broke the news. 'This morning, about half an hour ago, Mr Wheeler received a phone call to say Trixie and Jim have been found.'

'Found,' tears of joy streamed down her face, causing a similar reaction in most of the women in the room. Di turned to her lover for consolation, Grace tucked her small frame under one of her husband's arms and Honey placed a hand on Marts back as he watched the play of emotions over his mother's face.

'Yes,' Matthew stated. 'I don't know all the details. They were found trapped in a sink hole by a group of soldiers on patrol. Trixie and her daughter have been medevac'd to Washington. Both are listed as critical.'

'Daughter,' Helen looked confused, 'Trixie's got a daughter.'

'Yes,' nodding, Matthew didn't quite believe it either. 'The little girl is premature. There were complications. The doctors have done everything they can but…'

'Trixie,' Brian managed. He's learnt enough in his pre-med course to know the repercussions of a preterm birth, to both the neo-Nate and mother.

'Is listed as critical,' Matthew, ignoring the plea for more information, continued with his story, knowing he had yet another bombshell to explode. 'Jim and his son are being treated at Fort Eustis Base Hospital. My son is suffering from some kind of heart condition caused by their incarceration. It appears Jim and Trixie starved to save the life of their son.'

'Oh,' Helen, unable to hold back the tears, fell into Peter's arms.

'Before you ask any more questions,' Matthew pleaded, 'I've given you all the details. Trixie and her daughter have been registered as Jane Doe to protect her identity. I hardly need to tell you what will happen once the media gets a hold of this story. Jim and the little boy are safe from attention while they stay on the base.'

'I,' Mart announced into the silence, 'have taken care of that. Graham West, the investigative journalist, has been working with me on this since the beginning. I've asked him to break the story. He should be here any moment.'

'Mart,' Peter scolded.

'Trust me,' Mart turned to his father, 'handled the right way, this will work in our favour.'

Breaking away from his wife, Matthew came to stand next to the young man. 'Don't you think we have enough to cope with?'

'That,' Mart's determined blue eyes tried to hide his emotions, 'is precisely why I want Graham on this. He'll handle the story with respect, keeping his invasion into our privacy at a minimum and place a humanistic perspective on focused on the ultimate goal. The quicker it's out in the open, the sooner it will go away, leaving Jim and Trixie to cope with repercussions away from the probing eye of the media. With two children, they'll need their privacy maintained at all costs.'

'Mr and Mrs Belden,' Graham, let in by one of Tony's security personnel, offered, 'my aim is to show the emotional devastation all of you have suffered at the hands of a corrupt individual currently wielding a great deal of political power.'

'Our intention,' Mart informed the room, 'is to bring down Senator Iraola and his money laundering scheme. He's been appropriating US military weapons to sell to drug cartels in South America for years. His links to the underworld need to be exposed.'

'I believe,' Graham added into the shattered room, 'this man ordered the death of your daughter. Jim's presence and subsequent abduction is the only reason Trixie's still alive.'

The two journalists shared a moment. They understood the repercussion, the terrifyingly torturous death a young woman would have suffered at the depraved man's hands. What they uncovered, his practices with the woman he paid for services would have paled into insignificance with someone who had crossed him. Smithy understood only too well, his entire village suffering a similar fate. He'd turned out to be the one who'd saved Trixie's life by changing the plan at the last minute.

Yes - Trixie will get that bath with soap soon - but (evil laugh) not like your thinking! Nothing in my universe is that simple.


	5. Chapter 5

AN – Dear Guest reviewer, there's a scene just for you (snicker). I bet it's not what you had in mind for a bubble bath. Oh and I hate internal inconsistence in stories – especially when I'm the one who makes them. In chapter 3 I stated Trixie gave birth to Twin one at 1503 – this should have read 1053 as Matthew and his family were having a late breakfast when the call came from General Brooks. I've corrected it.

* * *

'Why is it,' the young nurse asked, dressed in a plastic apron, gloves, glasses and hair net, 'I always get the disgusting ones.'

Picking through the dreadlocks covering the dirty woman's head, she prepared to shear most of the mattered hair off. They'd started at the top after stabilising Jane Doe. Inspecting her scalp, Mary couldn't find evidence of the lice she'd expected.

'Comes with being the new kid on the block,' the nursing assistant smiled, bowl of hot water ready to wash the patients hair. 'Look at it this way, she's a complex patient. It shows the higher up have confidence in your nursing skills.'

'Well,' Mary sighed, 'here goes. You know some people would pay good money for dreads like this.'

'Some people might not be forced to have them by circumstance,' Sue rebuked. 'I get the feeling this young woman didn't have a choice in her hairstyle looking at the rest of her.'

Taking a wad of once golden hair, dirt and tangles, Mary snipped it close to the scalp. Snip, snip, snip, the sound of the scissors continued until the woman had little more than fuzz left on top. Sue, the assistant, moved in to start the hair wash. Once finished, the pair started to remove the layers of ground in dirt from their patients' body.

'Be careful of her surgical wound,' Mary warned as they turned the young woman over. 'I'll replace these old sheets once I've cleaned her back. You should see the amount of muck on them.'

'Doesn't it make you wonder,' Sue asked, intently looking at the now clean face. 'We don't know anything about this, well look at her, she can't be more than twenty. She's had a baby and almost bled to death. Isn't anyone looking for her? If she were my daughter, I'd be frantic with worry. Where's the guy who helped to create the child? What about her parents, do they even know she's here, fighting for her life?'

'With all that dirt gone,' Mary examined her patient, 'she looks familiar. I'm sure I've seen her picture somewhere before.'

'You nearly finished in there,' Nick, the nurse in charge of the specials unit asked, sticking his head around the doorway.

'Give us a hand to clear up this mess,' Mary flirted, pointing to the linin skip and the piles of sheets on the floor, 'and we will be.'

'Miss Doe still out for the count?' he enquired.

'Surgeon's wanted her sedated for another twenty four hours,' Mary pointed to the medical notes as Sue helped her place an open back gown on their patient, 'and to remain in a side room until the threat of infection has passed. They wrote up prophylactic antibiotics. I've given the first dose along with the fluids. Could you get the resource nurse to order a unit of packed cells if her Hb's below 65. The bloods should be back and cross matched by now.'

'Anything else,' Nick smiled, watching as the team folded back a fresh sheet. Close cropped but clean the young woman looked completely different.

'Not at the moment, but my shifts over in two hours,' Mary returned playfully, 'I'm sure I can find something for you to do then.'

'I'm sure you can,' Nick replied with a laugh. Having cleared the floor, he started wheeling the skip out of the room. 'You're going to have your work cut out for you until then,' he threw over his shoulder. 'Family's here and they're in a state. You'd think they haven't seen her in years.'

'Family?' Sue's eyes widened as she turned her gaze on Mary.

'Jane Doe's true identity is being suppressed,' the male nurse's expression turned thoughtful, 'even from the staff. I'm guessing her doctors know the story.'

'I knew she looked familiar,' Mary crowed reaching for her phone. 'She's someone important, or at least someone important is protecting the fact she's had a baby.'

Fielding looks for her colleagues, Mary searched through the apps on her phone. Turning on the internet she quickly found the most recent interview on YouTube. Crowding around the device, they both understood the moment it started to play.

'Well,' Nick swallowed, 'it's not going to take long before her identities out and the media is trying to get in here. I'd better alert security. No wonder it's all being kept hush-hush. That kid in the NICU is a Senators grandchild.'

'They're not married,' Sue shook her head, easily reading how this came about, 'and primaries start soon.'

'Yes,' Mart commented from his position at the doorway, arm around the Senators daughter, 'that's true. We'd like some time to come to terms with events surrounding Trixie's discovery before Honey's father has to cope with the fall out.' Three sets of stunned eyes watched the individuals they'd just seen in the video walk into the room. 'We have to get to Fort Eustis before the story breaks and visit with Jim. One of the doctors let us in.'

'We'll leave you to it,' Nick offered, shepherding Sue out of the room.

'Is there anything you'd like to know?' Mary asked, watching the young woman swallow convulsively. Her face drained of all colour, the nurse quickly placed a chair at the bedside hoping she'd take the hint.

'Trixie,' rushing over to her friend, Honey burst into tears. Reaching out a hand, she didn't quite touch the shaved locks.

Moving to her side, Mart took his lover into his arms. 'She's finally seen the light,' he quipped to hold back the emotions threatening to flood his mind, 'and got a crop top.'

'Mart,' Honey tried to giggle at the old joke while sobbing. It came out as strange kind of strangled cry, the sound summing up their feelings perfectly. Joyous in their family's reunification, they're suffering seemed more intense. Everyone had such a long emotional journey before them. Jim and Trixie had so much to deal with right now, let alone from the past three years.

In the waiting room, an exhausted Helen Belden couldn't sit. Mart and Honey slipped away to find out what they could. In the end Matthew changed plans. The company helicopter ferried Helen, Peter, Brian and Bobby to the airfield for a flight to Washington. It returned for the Wheelers and Mart, leaving the remaining Bob Whites in New York.

The Senator's party managed the journey on a single tank of fuel. Dropping Mart and Honey in Washington, the chopper refuelled and continued on to Fort Eustis. It would return for the young couple in two hours.

Arriving shortly before the rest of the Belden's, Mart's phone constantly to his ear, he made plans with Graham. They'd already checked the NICU for Trixie's baby. Talking his way in, a red lock of hair peaked out from under her white hand knitted hat. Weighing a little over 1.5kg, the nurse hinted at a good outcome as she no longer needed life support. Allowed three minutes, the visit over before they realised, it left a lasting impact on Mart.

'Marry me,' he pleaded as they walked side by side from the NICU.

'Now?' Honey couldn't hide the surprise at the sudden proposal.

'If I could find a phlebotomist to take the bloods, a court registrar to issue the licence and a JP to perform a legal ceremony, yes,' the note of seriousness in his tone making Honey inhale sharply.

'We're in a hospital, let's get the bloods done,' she replied, 'the rest can wait until next spring. I think we have enough to cope with at the moment.'

'That's why,' Mart stopped them dead in the corridor, 'I want to do it sooner than that. This event, it's made me realised I don't want to spend a day or night away from you. Christmas,' he made up his mind, pulling her roughly into his crushing embrace, 'we'll get married at Christmas.'

'January first,' Honey declared, 'then we'll always have a day off to celebrate.'

'Done,' Mart found the energy and emotion to grin before taking her lips in a slow, passionate kiss. 'Now let's get this show on the road. Moms and dad should be here and I want to see Trixie before we have to face the media barrage.'

Brian stood against a wall, his eyes watching his parents. Worried for them, he wished he could do more. Nervous energy forced Helen Belden to pace the small waiting room. Every so often she glanced to the door, hoping Mart and Honey would return with news. Looking to her husband, he easily read her thoughts. _How much longer do we have to wait_?

Finally a thirty something woman in scrubs entered the room. 'Mr and Mrs Belden,' she asked. Gaining their immediate attention, she pointed to the couch. Taking a seat, she waited for the parents to collect themselves. 'I'm Dr Rishi Sanjit, your daughter's obstetric consultant. Tell me what you know so far?'

Taking the lead, Peter offered, 'not much. Trixie went missing three and a half years ago. Matthew Wheeler, the father of the young man taken with her, got a call today. They were found in a place called The Hell Hole.'

'We came the moment we found out Trixie and her daughter had been brought here,' Helen added sorrowfully.

Quickly the doctor explained the major medical complications and the little she knew about the rescue. 'You know this isn't Trixie's first child,' Rishi questioned, trying to gage the parent's level of knowledge.

'Their son is with Jim,' Helen nodded, tears in her eyes. 'I wonder what that little boy has suffered. I know my daughter would have done her best to protect him.'

All the arguments over the state of Trixie's relationship with Jim came to nothing. If only, Helen suffered with the regrets for years. For a while she'd come to terms with the self-blame and her grief. Now the wounds reopened, pouring forth all the emotions she though behind her. In spite of Trixie's good intentions, she'd still become a teenaged mother. Given the circumstances and the fact this might have ended very differently, Helen couldn't begin to imagine carrying and birthing a child completely alone, without medical help and family support. She had a lot to discuss with Trixie, suspecting the young woman would be much altered by her experience.

'I've been in contact with my colleague at Fort Eustis. It been decided to keep both Jim and the child sedated to ease the potential shock. Dr Lido estimates your grandson is about sixteen to seventeen months old,' the doctor informed. 'The initial pregnancy didn't appear to cause your daughter any medical complications. I understand she coped with the birth alone. The child's father her only support. This time, with Trixie's nutritional state and the fact she carried fraternal twins, the pregnancy proved too much for her.'

'Twins,' Helen gasped, 'but…'

'Twin one couldn't be revived,' Rishi gentled her voice, 'I'm sorry, the little boy's lungs were too immature.'

Giving the stunned parents time to with the loss, she continued, 'the second infant is in our neonatal intensive care unit. The specialist looking after her will be down to talk to you shortly. By all accounts she'd a real fighter, just like her parents.'

'What about Trixie?' Brian, standing behind his parents asked.

'Suffered a major haemorrhage during the emergency C-section,' Rishi stated, 'the surgeon felt the best course would be to remove the uterus, preventing further complications.'

'You've done a hysterectomy,' Brian looked as socked as he felt. 'My sister only turned twenty in May.'

'Brian,' Helen, trying to cope with all the facts, didn't need the extra animosity. 'I'm sure the surgeon wouldn't have done it without needing to.'

'I believe it saved your daughter's life,' Rishi commented into the moment of silence, taking back the conversation. 'She still has options if she wants more children in the future. However our biggest problem now is infection given her precarious medical state. With her body malnourished and the stress of a major operation, we're going to keep her asleep for the next day or so and see how she goes. We've started her on nasogastric feeds so you'll see a tube in her nose. Keeping an eye on her blood pressure and circulation means she has tubes, wires and machines all around her bed. Try not to look at them, they're only tools. Speak to your daughter. Let her know you're there, it often helps both the patient and family coming to terms with what's happened.'

Standing, she offered her hand, informing the family know she intended to go. 'I'm sure you'll have questions but I'm not sure I have the answers for you at the moment. We'll meet again soon. The nurses will be ready to bring you through shortly. In the mean time I'll let the Neonatologist know you're here. Maybe one of you would like to visit the newest member of your family. I understand you son managed a quick visit.'

'Thank you, Doctor,' Peter mumbled, the shock clearly showing on his face.

'It's all too much,' Helen burst into tears once they were alone.

* * *

Two chapters in a week – don't learn to expect it!


	6. Chapter 6

**AN -** the wait is over. Finally the writer block has ended. Thank you all so much for your suggestions. More to come soon.

* * *

'Senator, Mrs Wheeler,' Dr Casey stood to greet the couple entering his office. Extending a hand, he shook Matthews before offering the chair on the opposite side of his desk. 'Please take a seat and I'll fill you in to the best of my knowledge.'

'Thank you,' Matthew responded with a tight smile, 'so far no one has given us much information.'

Their helicopter landed eight minutes ago. Greeted by four armed men in dress uniform, they swiftly whisked the party to a waiting jeep. Matthew expected the base commander to greet him with his political ties. It seemed General Brooks continued his meeting with Senator Idola. The thought caused an ironic smile to cover Senator Wheeler's lips.

If Martin Belden were here, he'd call it collusion to avoid the full weight of his wrath. The young man almost had enough information and evidence to go public with his story. Pulling up before the hospital building, Grace gave her husband a withering look. It demonstrated her rage as yet another layer of bureaucracy stood in the way of seeing her son and grandson.

'I'm not sure if the staff told you,' Daniel saw fear, hurt and anger pass over the faces of the couple before him. 'I lead the medical evacuation and wanted the chance to discuss what we found before you visit you son.'

'I'd appreciate that,' Matthew kept an even tone wishing the man would just get on with it. His foray into politics taught him to hide his emotions under a layer of perceived calm. The more information he could gather and pass on to Mart, the more they'd have to hang the real perpetrators out to dry.

'Before we begin, I think you need to know,' Daniel hesitated, 'Jim believes Trixie to be his Punitive Wife.'

'What,' Grace lifted an eyebrow, 'does that mean? I don't think I've ever heard the term before.'

'They believe themselves to be married without the legal documentation,' Dr Casey explained. 'The law coving punitive marriages applies in D.C. but not in Virginia. As soon as it's possible, we'll transfer Jim to the same hospital as his wife so the family can be together. I'm sure they'll want to make the marriage binding from the little conversation I shared with your son.'

'I understand,' Matthew rubbed his chin. Politically, when the public found out the abducted couple promised themselves to each other, and under D.C. law, they'd be all but legally married it would change the political fallout.

Not slow on the uptake, Grace glanced at her husband. They shared a silent conversation. The communication gained over the years of their marriage. Turning to the doctor, Mrs Wheeler asked, 'why can't my son be moved to the same hospital as Trixie now?'

'The last time you saw your son,' Daniel decided not to delay, 'he looked fit and healthy. Jim is cachectic, that means little more than skin and bone. It temporarily affected the way his heart beats. I wouldn't advise moving him for a few days.'

'We left a team in the Hell Hole, a natural sink well, to investigate how Jim and Trixie got trapped down there. Lt Newton reports their crops failed, they had little in the way of stored food and what supplies their captors left them with were all but exhausted. It appears Jim starved himself to ensure the welfare of his Wife and child.'

'That,' Matthew choked down the emotions threatening to overwhelm him, 'sounds like my son.'

'Due to his general condition, Jim's heart couldn't take the stress of the rescue,' Daniel explained. 'We need to build him up and make him medically safe before transferring Jim. As Trixie's condition turned critical, we lifted her to the nearest maternity hospital. Unfortunately, the child couldn't go with his mother which is always preferable. We haven't been able to establish if your grandson is still being breastfeed which may create another issue.'

'When I take you through to see Jim, you'll notice a tube down his nose to his stomach and other going into his neck. That one will be attached to a bag covered in black plastic. The white liquid is the equivalent of food. We are giving Jim high doses of nutrients but it will take months to regain his muscle tone. It's going to be a slow recovery process. That,' Daniel tried to give them a taste of the psychological damaged, 'it just the physical effects of their abduction.'

'Where is my grandson,' Grace asked, trying to keep the horror from her face.

'We have kept the child sedated,' Daniel looked sad. 'Jim wouldn't tell us anything about him, and his reaction to strangers is to be expected. The entirety of his young life has been spent in an area sixty by ninety feet surrounded by twenty feet high sheer cliff walls.'

Rising from behind his desk, Dr Casey indicated the Wheelers should do the same. 'Please follow me.'

The party transversed the corridors to the high dependency unit in silence. Coming to a halt before a door, Daniel added, 'even sedated, Jim and your grandson will be able to hear you. Try to keep your display of emotion to a minimum and talk in a normal tone.'

Nodding their understanding, Daniel opened the door. Matthew and Grace stood for several seconds taking in the sight before their eyes. The lights deliberately kept dim, the monitor above Jim bed beeped softly in time with his heartbeat. Jim's bed on one side of the room, a cot on the other, both held identical bodies albeit one much smaller than the other.

'He looks just like Jim,' Grace commented, tears in her eyes. Reluctantly she stepped into the room. Her feet carried her to the cot. Extending a hand, she gently stoked the red curl in the middle of the child's forehead. 'Hello, little one.' Turning to her husband, she choked out, 'he's perfect. You wouldn't think he's been through so much.'

'Jim and Trixie have done a good job raising him,' Matthew commented. He couldn't help himself. The child looked like he needed a cuddle. Picking up the toddler, Senator Wheeler carried him over to an armchair.

The child disturbed. Opening one eye a crack, Matthew could swear his irises were the same green as Jim's. He snuggled into the warmth, offering a contented, 'Dada.'

'I'll be whoever you want me to be,' Matthew whispered back, 'so long as you feel safe.'

'He thinks you're Jim,' Grace cried, the tears running down her face, 'because you look so much alike.'

'At least,' Matthew locked eyes with his wife, 'I can give him that. Check on Jim.'

Going over to the bed, Grace approached it with trepidation. She could see the weight her son lost in his struggle to keep his family alive. Skin so pale, cheeks gaunt, it didn't take a genius to see how much he had gone without for Trixie and his child.

'Jim,' she whispered softly. Just as she had done with the child, Grace's hand reached out to stroke his hair. The nurses had done a good job of cleaning him up before his parents arrived. Washed, shaved and in a pristine white hospital gown, Grace Wheeler would never know the state in which her son had been discovered. Remembering Dr Casey's instructions, she sat on the side of the bed, taking a hand in hers and began telling Jim how much they'd all missed him.

When she'd finished, horse with emotion, Matthew took over. 'You've produced such a perfect child,' he swallowed hard, looking down in the angelic face. 'I hope you don't mind, I've taken a picture and sent it to Helen and Mart's phones. The moment we heard about your son, everyone wanted to see him. I know this might not have been what you and Trixie planed, but don't worry. We'll cope.'

Turning inward, Matthew considered the photo of the other child, laying in a neonatal intensive care unit. 'Mart and Honey went to see your daughter,' he continued, 'typical of Mart, he managed to smuggle the picture out and sent it to both sets of grandparents. She's got the same red hair as you but her little eyes are still closed. The doctors say she's a fighter, just like you and Trixie.'

Tripping over his words, ideas tumbled out, some not making much sense. Matthew continued to talk. 'What I'm trying to say, your mother and I, Helen and Peter, we'll stand by you and your family, no matter what. I know we have a long road in front of us, but we'll cope.'

* * *

'Trixie,' Helen cried, rushing to the chair beside her daughters' bed. One hand wrapped tightly around her palm resting on top of the pristine white sheet. The other strayed to her close cropped hair. 'Oh, my baby girl, what you must have been through.'

After talking to her granddaughter's doctor, his explanation of the traumatic birth under extreme circumstance, Helen Belden's emotions finally cracked. They'd been standing outside the neonatal unit's glass window, wrapped in Peter's arms and crying her eyes out. Able to stare in, the tiny child became dwarfed by her space aged looking crib. All the arguments, the battles with Trixie leading up to her abduction suddenly felt superfluous. This tiny life and her daughters hung in the balance. Anything before paled into insignificance.

It took a full minute for Helen to gather the courage to enter Trixie's ICU room. The tubes scared the usually unflappable woman. Pale in complexion, her daughter looked washed out and ready to depart this world. They wouldn't know exactly what Jim and Trixie endured for three and a half years until they both woke. Even then, they may not want share their experience. It pained Helen to think she might not get the chance to comfort her child.

'I've dreamed of this moment,' Helen confessed, 'but never like this. I've imagined you coming home, always through the back door of Crabapple Farm. Escorted by the FBI or alone or even with Jim following in your wake, I didn't care. I only wanted my daughter home and safe.'

'Helen,' Peter murmured, standing at her shoulder, placing a consoling palm on her back. 'Trixie's tough, she'll get through this.'

Watching from the corner of the room, Mary wondered at this close knit family. She'd worked enough hospitals to see all manner of humanity and their reactions to ill loved ones. The media portrayal didn't do justice to the out pouring of grief she's witnessed.

'Trixie's,' she rolled the name of her tongue, 'condition is stable. Normally she'd be awake. The sedation is a precaution. I know it's difficult, but try to ignore all the machines surrounding the bedspace.'

'Do you know anything,' Helen pleaded, 'about what happened?'

'I'm sorry,' Mary answered, 'I can only tell you she's malnourished but her general condition is good. Where ever she's been kept,' the young nurse tried to comfort, 'they had sunlight, you can see the slight tan on her face.'

'She would have hated being cooped up in a confined space and unable to go outside,' Peter smiled sadly.

'I just wish,' Helen's temper started to become a real anger as the situation finally hit home, 'we knew more about this. We know who took her and why, but where's the justice for us. We've lost our daughter for three years, years we can never get back. Our household has been turned upside down and will be again once Jim and Trixie come home. What about those poor children. They're the innocent ones in all of this.'

'Try to calm down, Helen,' Peter counselled, 'this isn't going to get us anywhere.' Fielding a hurt and resentful expression, he sighed. 'It's not that I don't feel the same way. Hell, I don't know what to feel if the truth is known. All I do know, I'm ecstatic to have my daughter home. No matter how it came about, we now have two grandchildren to consider. They are the unintentional bystanders in all of this and need to be loved, nurtured and protected. That's the only reason I'm forcing myself to stay calm.'

'It infuriates me,' Helen declared. The thought cut off by a sudden beeping, her head wiped around to the nurse. 'What's that,' she felt the panic rise, 'what's wrong.'

'I think,' Mary answered timidly, 'it's your cell.'

'Oh,' Helen nodded, feeling suitably embarrassed.

'It might be Matthew,' Peter encouraged his wife to look at the screen. Watching over her shoulder as she opened the message, a tear welled in the corner of his eye. 'Well,' he commented, 'you can tell who that little boy belongs too.'

'He's the spitting image of Jim,' Helen agreed, looking at the photo Matthew sent from Fort Eustis. 'When his eyes open, I guess we'll find out if he's got green eyes or blue.'

'It means Matt and Grace have seen Jim,' Peter eagerly looked for text accompanying the picture. 'What do they say about his condition?'

'Not much,' Helen handed her husband the phone. She'd been shocked at the lengthy explanation as to why they needed to move Jim to the same hospital as Trixie.

'Married,' Peter's eyebrow hit the roof.

'We always knew,' Helen found the strength to smile, 'Trixie belonged to Jim and one day they'd form a family. We all have a lot of changes to make. I just hope Mart's plans to make this media interest go away works.' Indicating her daughter, she suggested, 'they're going to need peace and quiet to recover.'

'And we're going to need them close,' Peter added, handing back the phone.

* * *

'Mart,' Honey questioned, 'what are you doing?'

Climbing aboard the chopper for the next leg of their journey, Mart effectively ignored Honey at his side. He'd sent the photos of Trixie's daughter to Matthew on his phone before taking out his computer. Fingers flying over the pads on his key board, he barely spared his now Fiancée a glance.

'Setting up a "Trix and Jim have been found" page on Facebook,' he answered distractedly. Feeling her glare, Martin Belden glanced up with a grin. 'The younger generation will need this social media out let if we want things to die down quickly. I've already set up a twitter account and it's been hit over a hundred times. Graeme is taking care of the rest.'

'Do you think that's wise?' Honey asked. 'There might be some very negative responses.'

'It's better they get their emotions out on a web page,' Mart answered logically, 'than bottle up their responses and vote with their emotions at the next elections. Your dad can't continue his work if he's not elected.'

'You're thinking about the political aspect to this as well as everything else?' Shaking her head, Honey wondered how Mart could act so logical at a time like this. She felt like falling apart and they hadn't seen Jim yet.

'I have to Honey,' he stated in a deadly tone, 'I want revenge for what those men did to my sister and Jim. The only way I'm going to get any satisfaction is to take away from them everything they've ever coveted, just like they did to us the day Trixie and Jim were abducted.'


	7. Chapter 7

**AN** – for those of you who think I'm moving at a snail's pace, you're right on the money. Most of this book wasn't supposed to happen. I've never written the parents point of view so this is a foray into unexplored territory. I keep imagining myself at my son's bedside when he's in the ICU with an asthma attack and suddenly it doesn't seem that hard to write Helen, Peter, Grace and Matt's feelings. As a bonus, I'll be adding a fifth book to the series called Resolutions, where we get Jim and Trixie perspective on the events and finally an end to the entire saga. So it's a win-win situation – and to think, initially I thought this would be over in three books!

* * *

Brian paced. It took seven steps to reach the end of the waiting room then turn and take the seven steps back to his original position. _Nothing, I've been waiting hours, and what for, nothing_, he simmered internally.

He'd been privy to the conversation with the Intensivest looking after his sister. Then the Neonatologist came to talk to his parents. She'd ignored him and his questions completely. When the nurse finally called them through to see Trixie, she stated only two visitors at a time. So, once again Brian Belden felt left out.

_It happening again_, he fumed. _When Jim and Trixie first went missing, the four remaining Bob Whites all stayed in Sleepyside. They had each other for comfort and support. What did I have but a "Brian its better you stay in New York and finish your studies". Cold comfort that turned out to be. Didn't any of them realise all I ever wanted was to be back at Crabapple Farm with my family. I felt alone and abandoned. I had to cope with the innuendo and gossip by myself. Then Mart and Honey got together, Di found a partner and Dan, well he's always allowed most things to wash off his back with his background. Now my sister, my only sister is fighting for her life and I'm out here in the waiting room not even allowed to see her._

Deciding he's had enough of playing by the rules, Brian went up to the visitor's window. Affecting a sad grimace, he stated, 'my names Brian Belden…'

'Please come right through,' the clerk pointed to the glass doors on her right. Buzzing him through, Brian swallowed hard. Wanting to see Trixie and being allowed to do so created a maelstrom of emotions. Once through she greeted him with, 'I'm sorry, I didn't realise you'd been waiting all this time.'

'I beg your pardon?' responded the astounded man.

'Your sister came in as a Jane Doe,' explained the woman, leading Brain down a corridor into the ICU, 'and the doctors, once they knew her true identity wanted it kept that way. What your family must have been through in the last few years. I understand the media's been very intrusive. I guess it'll only get worse if they discover she's a patient here.'

Brian had to hide his mirth. Little did this woman know, but his brother intended to lead the media campaign designed to disseminate the news she valiantly tried to keep quiet. Ushering him into the private side room, Brain gasped. Three years of pre-med came back to haunt him. Surrounded by equipment he'd seen in textbooks, the seriousness of Trixie's condition assaulted him.

'Moms,' Brian glanced at his mother. The distress clearly displayed on her features. His father hadn't weathered the initial meeting with is lost daughter any better. Deciding he needed to be strong for his parents, Brian took in a deep, fortifying breath.

'Oh, Brian,' Helen ran to her son. She understood how much he'd suffered, even if he'd keep most of his emotion locked away. They'd tried to make life as normal as possible for the only Bob White still following his dreams. Helen realised the day he's come home and announced a new career they'd failed. 'I'm so sorry, she tried to apologise. 'We meant to come and get you but…'

'Even though we were warned,' Peter finished for his wife, 'we didn't expect this and we couldn't leave her.'

'I know dad,' Brian withdrew from his mother to approach Trixie's bed. Pale and gaunt, his medical training kicked in. Taking her left hand in his, for the first time since deciding to change majors, he knew, deep in his heart and soul, he'd made the right decision. 'Hey, Trix,' Brian spoke to his sister in a warm, even tone, 'it's been a while. I guess Moms and Dad have told you a lot about what's happening in Sleepyside.'

Not allowing the sorrow or threatening tears, Brain continued to talk to his sister as though they carried on a normal conversation. When he mentioned her little boy, wondering what they called him, Trixie seemed to respond with the merest hint of pressure on their entwined fingers. Subtle, the eldest Belden child continued to guess at his nephew's name and test his theory.

'Don't tell my Jim decided on James Frayne III.' This time the spasm in her digits seemed deliberate. 'When's her next sedative due?' Brian turned on the nurse and demanded.

Checking the older woman pursed her lips, obviously unhappy. 'I'll get the Resource Nurse to make it up for me,' she commented.

'Don't bother,' Brian gave the woman a hard look, 'she's light enough to be coming around as we speak. It's alright Trix,' he soothed, turning his complete attention back to the patient, 'Moms, Dad and I'm here. Jim's safe but in the hospital to build him back up. Mr and Mrs Wheeler are with him and your son.'

Something resembling 'Jamie' issued from Trixie's vocal cords.

'Your son?' Brian questioned. 'Squeeze my hand if you want to know about your son, Trix.' Feeling the light pressure, he continued, 'Mr Wheeler sent us a picture. He looks like a mini copy of Jim. Jamie's doing better than both his parents at the moment. The doctors have kept him sedated to decrease the culture shock.'

'Jamie,' once again Trixie tried to communicate her distress.

'He's safe,' Helen stated softly but with sincerity. 'Matthew's arranged everything. All you have to do is sleep and get better. I promise you'll be back with your family soon. We all want you to get well and take you home.'

Struggling to open her eye's an expression of pain lanced across Trixie's face.

'Don't move,' Brian placed a consoling hand on her forehead. 'You've had an emergency c-section. You have a daughter, Trix. She's got Jim's red hair already and the fighting spirit of her mother. She's in the nursery and going really well even if she is a little early. As soon as we can move you to a ward, you'll be able to have her with you.'

'We'll take care of her,' Helen promised, 'until you get better.'

'Sleep, Trix,' Peter added. 'When you wake up, we'll all still be here.'

'Katie,' Trixie slurred. She'd given up trying to open her eyes as her eyelids felt like lead, instead communicating by deliberately crushing Brian's fingers.

'I get it,' a genuine smile covered his face for the first time in three and a half years. 'Jim got to pick the boy's names. I guess you're trying to tell us your daughter's called Katie Frayne.'

This time the pressure lessened. Overwhelmed by the love and support she felt from those surrounding her, Trixie allowed the sleep to overcome her. Sighing, Brian looked across the slumbering form of his sister to reassure his parents.

'She's going to get through this,' Brian stated.

'Here,' Helen found her phone and handed it to Brain. 'You tell Matthew and Grace about the names of their grandchildren. I don't think I could hold that thing, let alone type out a message.'

'Before you give him that,' Grace pleaded with the nurse, 'can you ask Dr Casey if it's really necessary?'

'I'll go and get him,' the young man nodded in agreement, dropping the syringe back into the kidney dish. A veteran of three tours of duty, he'd seen worse injuries treated with less medication.

A few moments later, the doctor entered the room. 'I understand,' a faint smiled covered his lips, 'you'd like us to stop the sedative.'

'Yes,' Grace looked to her husband for agreement. 'You said you're keeping Jim asleep as a precaution. He'd hate the thought. If determination will make my son well, he'll do whatever you want to get back to his family.'

'It's not a matter of waking Jim and transferring both of them to Washington,' Daniel warned, 'with an arrhythmia, the first forty eight hours are critical.'

'Why not,' Matthew finally entered the conversation. 'I've spoken to a cardiologist in Washington who's happy to arrange the medivac plane with a doctor on-board for the hour flight. An ambulance will be waiting for us at the airport. The hospital in Washington said they could house Jim and his family in a single room so they can all be together.'

'Have you considered the ramifications to the child?' Daniel asked softly.

'We're only requesting you wake our son,' Matthew's green eyes narrowed to the man. 'I've consulted the paediatrician who's currently attending to our granddaughter. By the way, Trixie woke up enough to tell Helen and Peter the children's names.'

'This,' Grace reached out a hand to stroke the red locks of the toddler in Matthew's arms, 'is Jamie and his sister will be called Katie.'

'Dr Western recommends keeping Jamie sedated until the trip is over,' Matthew returned the conversation to its former topic.

'I see,' Dr Casey knew he'd been out manoeuvred. 'When have you arranged this transfer?'

'Dr Weston and Dr Wang are awaiting your call to say Jim is conscious,' Matthew answered easily.

Grace couldn't stop the tears rolling down her cheeks as her expression pleaded with the doctor to understand. 'I want to find out about the first years of our grandson's life. I want to see how all of this has affected my son emotionally. He's been through so much before we adopted him, this has to have affected Jim as much, if not more. Most of all, I want to tell my son, no matter what's happened, he's the most important issue in our lives right now.'

'It'll be better for everyone,' Matthew added, 'if Jim can see his wife, to know his son is with them both. I believe they'll heal better as a family unit and be able to cope with the loss of their third child. Trixie still doesn't know Katie's twin died at birth.'

Taking the phone numbers, Daniel walked out of the room. Closing the door behind him, he called for James Frayne's medical chart. Ceasing the order for further sedation, he sighed heavily. _I'm not convinced_, he mussed internally, _you're making the right decision Senator Wheeler, even if I understand why you fell it's necessary._

'Di,' Missy looked at her watch, face screwed up in an expression of resentment. Graeme's article in the Times caused a flurry of calls to the box office. Officially they'd sold out for the next three weeks. As the producer and director of the play, she had little choice in attending the nightly show.

'I know,' the dark haired woman responded dejectedly, 'you have to go. I want you here with me but I understand.'

'With a positive review from Graeme West,' Missy offered, 'we've sold out online leaving some very angry customers who called for tickets. Mart knew what he was doing, getting his friend and mentor to write the piece the way he did. It's not only sparked interest in the real identity of Peter Jones, but reignited awareness in the abduction. Once people know Trix and Jim have been found it's going to go crazy.'

'Mart wanted to make it a hit,' Dan chimed in sardonically from his position on the couch. None of them dared to leave the building in the six hours since the Belden's and Wheeler's departed. Mart kept them in constant contact via text messages. They'd received photos of Jim and Trixie's children along with their names. 'I think he should be the one to go into politics, the way he's manipulated this situation. With Honey at his side, she'd make the perfect Senators wife.'

Snorting, Missy offered, 'don't you think Mr Wheeler has already considered that? They two of them are more alike than they care to admit. That's why Honey loves Mart so much. She looked for someone just like her father.'

'I've been so blind,' Di covered her mouth with a hand. 'Honey started to fall for Mart when his real personality began to show. Before Trix was taken, he acted like a clown, the middle child, hiding his real personality. When they started to do the talk show rounds, Mart grew up fast and demonstrated his real strength and character.'

'I noticed the change too,' Dan chipped in. 'I think Mr Wheeler did as well and didn't mind the relationship with his daughter. It generated a lot of public sympathy for Trix and Jim.'

'It's certainly helped his political career,' Missy added thoughtfully, 'not to mention Mart's journalistic endeavours. I'd say it's a perfect match.'

'I bet,' Di found a slight smile, 'Mart's working on part two of your play as we speak. I shudder to think of the implications to those responsible for Jim and Trixie's abduction. He'd going to want to hang them out to dry. It's those poor children I feel sorry for. The media interest is going to be so intrusive.'

'There's no way I'd let those responsible get a way,' Dan agreed. 'This plan of Mart's, to publicly humiliate them and take away the wealth and power they think they've gained is genus.'

'Rotting in jail,' Missy concurred, 'is too good for them. I'd like to see them spend a year living in the conditions they forced Jim and Trixie to suffer. Come see me out, Di, you know how Dan gets off seeing the two of us together.'

That brought a smile to Di's face, as Missy intended. 'I'm sorry, I can't get back until tomorrow,' she apologised, 'but you can cuddle up with Dan. He's about the only one I trust with you.'

Dan watched the two women walk towards the entry hall. Although in a monogamous, committed relationship, they kept their displays of affection private. Shaking his head, Dan turned on the six O'clock news. Just as Di re-entered the Wheelers living room, the article they been waiting for started.

'This should be good,' Di fell into the seat beside Dan. He placed his arm around her shoulders. They'd always been comfortable with each other. It had taken Miss Lynch coming out for Dan to realise why. Right now they both felt the need for a friend who'd understand.

'Mart at his journalistic best,' Dan nodded.

'The factory fire,' Louise Remora, the nightly anchor, hesitated, placing one finger to her ear. 'We have a breaking story,' she informed her audience with a shocked expression.

Behind her on the screen a picture of two very well-known young people suddenly appeared as the camera zoomed in on her mobile face. 'Abducted teenagers Beatrix Belden and James Frayne have been located. Repeating that breaking story, the son of Senator Matthew Wheeler has been located with his punitive wife Trixie Belden-Frayne. We cross to Graham West on location at Fort Eustis. Graham, what can you tell us?'

'Good evening, Louise,' Graham looked at the electronic device in his hand then back to the camera, 'this story begins last night with the opening of a play called Abducted written by political journalist, Peter Jones. It revealed the true identity behind the young writer to be none other than Martin Belden, brother to the missing Trixie. Just before midday, I received a call from him at Senator Wheeler's apartment in New York. The family had been contacted by General Brooks, currently in charge of the military games being conducted around the town of Warm Springs in Virginia. A five man squad heard terrified cry from a natural cave system called the Hell Hole.'

At this point, Duane Higgenbottom, the cameraman fed stock footage of The Hell Hole to the audience, giving them the idea of the conditions suffered by the missing pair. Obviously the footage came from the movie based on Tim Winston's book of the same name. It showed the water and supply caves, as well as a shot from the bottom looking up at the cliff walls making the area an effective prison.

Graham continued with a voice over. 'Investigating the noise revealed Trixie and James Frayne. They've been trapped by sheer walls, unable to get out since being confined three and a half years ago.' Returning to the journalist, the viewer's now had the mental image he wanted. 'It's a testament to their survival skills they managed to stay alive all this time. However James Frayne suffered a cardiac event. It's believed the shock of finally being rescued, along with malnutrition caused his heart into an arrhythmia. He's in a stable condition at the base hospital, his family at his bedside. Trixie Frayne has been transferred to a hospital in Washington. She's said to be in a critical condition. We'll know more at the night progresses.'

'Any word on how they became trapped?' Louise asked the carefully scripted words appearing on her monitor back at the anchor desk.

'Anyone seeing last night's play can't help draw parallels,' Graham's face contorted. 'James's stepfather, jailed for the abduction and attempted ransom has been used by a South American drug cartel. His accomplice, Miguel Harvia has direct links to the now defunct Kayos Cartel. Interesting Trixie lead a group of friends to discover a crèche of stolen US military weapons destine for this carted about five years ago. I've managed to track the stolen weapons back to Fort Eustis.'

'That's seems like an interesting coincidence,' Louise offered. 'Do we have a statement from the military or the family?'

'Martin Belden,' stepping into the camera's field, Graham placed the microphone between them, 'has joined me. Can you give us an update on your sister and her husband, James Frayne?'

Pale, Mart swallowed visibly. Reading from an i-pad, he looked miserably into the lens. 'This morning my sister gave birth to a baby girl. Due to the conditions of their captivity both are fighting for their life. Jim's heart has been damaged by near starvation. His doctors expect him to make a full recovery but it will take time.'

'What can you tell us about the child recovered with Jim?' Graham eased into the conversation.

'Jamie Frayne is approximately sixteen months old,' Mart commented, 'and in perfect health. He will be cared for by Matthew and Grace Wheeler until Jim recovers enough to take care of his son. At this time, the families of Trixie and Jim Frayne have requested privacy to begin putting their shattered lives back together.'

'As more information comes to light,' Graham's cameraman cut Mart from the picture, 'we'll keep you updated throughout the night.'

'Thank you, Graham,' Louise commented. 'As yet there has been no comment from General Brooks or a military spokesperson. We will continue to bring you details as they arise.'

Turning off the television, Dan laid the remote in his lap. 'What do you think?'

'I'd say Mart's put the cat among the pidgins,' Di frowned. 'I just hope everyone is as horrified by the injustice and leaves Trixie and Jim alone to cope with their family.'

'Well,' Dan commented snidely, 'by now they'll all be at the same hospital. Mart and Honey stayed behind to give the impression Jim's still at Fort Eustis.'

'It won't take long,' Di shook her head, 'to realise they've been duped.'

* * *

AN - I little longer than my average but I guess you can see where the next chapter will start. Any ideas - I'm willing to incorporate them.


	8. Chapter 8

AN – this is a long one but I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Amber your review about people being genuinely happy got my thoughts going and I've used it so thank you. Also Mart is a character I've always struggled with. I'm glad you like this incantation. I've always felt his position as middle child and son took something away from him. This situation has allowed him to shine. Like you I can't see Honey and Brian together – although I'm getting the third part of my Ant Nothing but a Broken Heart series (watch this space).

Jim's hand clenched as he became aware of the soft lighting and constant, rhythmic bleeping. In his grip he felt something soft. Allowing the texture to slide through his fingers, he realised he'd slept on sheets. James Frayne felt more comfortable than he could remember. Beneath him, his emaciated body pressed into a soft mattress.

_I'm in a hospital_, the memory of their rescues came back in a rush. It caused a moment of panic as he wondered where they'd taken his family.

Opening his eyes, Jim looked around. Noting the empty cot, his heart raced for a moment. On the chair beside the bed, Matthew slept with Jamie in his arms. Smiling at the picture, he realised how much they resembled each other. Given his son's reaction to the helicopter and the strangers in army fatigues, the similarity of his grandfather had to be a comfort. The little boy looked content and peaceful in his slumber which relieved Jim's mind.

Struggling to sit up, Jim found his way impeded by cords and wires. Something uncomfortable had been taped to his nose. Feeling the tube disappearing down a nasal cavity, he explored the tightness at his neck. As Jim's eyes followed the tube back to plastic encased bag, he wondered what it contained. Beyond that, James Frayne discovered a heart monitor, which explained the wires attached to his chest.

Allowing his fingers to explore further, his beard had disappeared. Clean shaven, Jim smiled. He'd hated the facial hair even more than the dreadlock which he soon discovered had been removed. They'd left only a half inch of stubble. It would take a long time to regrow his thick red locks.

Navigating the medical equipment, he managed bring the rail down and sit on the side of the bed. Reaching out a hand, he found his son just out of range. Unwilling to wake his father, Jim could see the lines of fatigue marking Matthew Wheeler's face. It brought home how much their families had suffered while they'd been missing.

'Mother,' Jim exclaimed as the door opened to admit Grace, a nurse in scrubs and a doctor.

'You're awake,' Grace smiled. Exhaustion showed in her expressive hazel eyes.

'Where's my, ah, Trixie?' Jim made the save at the last minute.

Disturbed by the voices, Matthew came out of his doze instantly. A twinkle entered his green gaze as it locked with Jim's. 'Lay back down son,' he suggested. Managing to get up without disturbing Jamie, Matt waited until the young man made himself comfortable. Laying the child at his father's side, Jim immediately moved his son onto his chest, both arms protectively around Jamie.

'The doctor told me they took Trixie to have the baby,' once again panic rose in Jim's heart and mind as a look of grief passed between his parents. 'Tell me what happened,' he pleaded.

'Your wife,' Matthew emphasised the words, 'gave birth to twins. Your daughter is in the special care nursery.'

'The other one,' Jim swallowed visibly, crushing Jamie in his embrace, 'didn't make it, did they?'

'No,' Grace agreed, 'he couldn't breathe on his own.'

'Trixie,' Jim closed his eyes, allowing the pain to wash over him.

'I've arranged to have you transferred to the same hospital,' Matthew commented, indicating the medical personnel. 'The rescue team needed to take your wife to the nearest maternity hospital,' he began to explain what they knew as the nurse and doctor prepared Jim for transport.

'Tell me about this marriage,' Grace asked when her husband finished, 'it you feel strong enough.'

Ignoring his mother, Jim looked to Matthew, 'we need to make it legal, as soon as possible. I promised Trixie it would be the first thing we did if we were rescued.'

'Leave it to me,' Senator Wheeler's mind began to consider the possibilities. He'd have to discuss this new aspect with Mart. The young man had a genius for getting the most out of any situation. Matthew bet he could milk the public sympathy angle from a unique journalistic prospective.

'It's almost eight,' Jeanie remarked. The nurse pointed to the clock, offing a comforting smile in the hope her patient's family would take the hint. 'You need to look after yourselves Mr and Mrs Belden. Without the proper amount of sleep and nutrition, you'll get sick. Then you won't be any help to your daughter and her family as they recover. They're going to need your love and support in the days to come.'

'I want to be here when she wakes up,' Helen pleaded softly, sparing the nurse a despondent look.

'Why don't you and Dad go back to the apartment,' Brian offered quickly, 'take a shower and get something to eat. After you've called Bobby at the Lynches, you can come back.' Helen glanced at Peter, requesting his opinion. He nodded agreement at his son's plans. 'We'll take this in turns. Let me stay with Trix for the next few hours. I promise I'll call you if anything changes.'

'I don't know,' Helen hesitated.

'It's not like the movies,' Brain commented to his worried parents. 'Hollywood has a lot to live up too,' he attempted to lighten the situation. 'No one magically opens their eyes and just wakes up. This process will take hours as Trixie's body metabolises the aesthetic from the surgery and the sedation. The longer she sleeps, the more time her body has to heal.'

'Come on Helen,' Peter coaxed, 'the apartments within walking distance. We can be back here in a few minutes if Brian calls.'

Left alone with his sister, Brian sat on a chair at her bedside. He held her hand in his, comforted by the warmth. Trixie's eyes opened several time in the next two hours. Each time she looked around, tried to say something before the drowsiness overcame her. Each time she woke her gaze lasted longer. It took more consoling from Brian to lull her back into a restless slumber. Often she called out for her husband or son.

'Jim,' Trixie fought to keep the blackness away. Determined to stay awake this time she frantically looked around the room. From the smell, dim lights, constant beeping and previous hazy memories she understood they'd been rescued. She had to be in a hospital. 'Jamie,' she moaned, lifting her arms to try and sit up.

'He's safe Trix,' Brian offered, taking the beds control and elevating the head. 'Jamie's with your husband.' That brought her startling blue eyes to bear on her brother. 'When the team found you,' he explained, 'Jim kept calling you his wife. That's one of the reasons Mr Wheeler had you transferred to a hospital in D.C. If you believe you're married, given the circumstances, you have the legal rights of a married couple. It's called a punitive marriage.'

'Need…make…real,' Trixie found talking hurt her throat.

Jeanie handed Brain a cup of iced water with a straw. He helped his sister take a sip. 'Slowly, Trix,' he stated, trying to keep a grin at bay. She hated being this helpless and it showed in her expressive gaze. 'I'm sure honourable Jim will insist you make it legal at the earliest possible moment with two children between you.'

'Are you in any pain?' the nurse asked, watching the young woman screw up her face and place a hand on her belly.

'No,' she answered, turning her attention back to Brain. 'Moms?' she asked, her blue eyes scanning the room.

'Should be back any minute now,' Brian smiled. 'She went back to Mr Wheeler's apartment to call Bobby and let him know what's happening. I've texted them to let them know you're awake.'

'Katie?' This time her blue eyes clouded over as the hazy images from her rescue began to make sense.

'She's doing remarkably well for a pre-term twin. When they transferred you, she needed to be on oxygen. Now Katie's breathing on her own,' concern laced Brian's expression. He saw the moment Trixie understood his reference.

'Twin?' she choked up.

'Katie's brother didn't survive the birth,' he informed gently. 'I'm sorry, Trix, his lungs weren't strong enough.'

Nodding, Trixie closed her eyes. A single tear pooled in the corner of her eye before caressing her cheek. 'Jim knows?' she managed to choke out.

'Not yet,' consoled Brain. 'Jim's on his way here now, Trix. Would you like us to tell him when he arrives?'

'No,' Trixie took in a fortifying breath, 'my job.'

The exchanged, watched by Peter and Helen at the door, bespoke the changes in their daughter. Trixie's expression of strength and determination surpassed anything they'd ever seen. The young woman before them, now a wife and mother had matured, grown and become resilient. Even this news, the death of her third child, became her tail to share with her family.

'Want to see Jim,' Trixie pleaded.

'Soon,' Helen felt the strings of her heart pull tight. Entering the room she came to the opposite side of the bed. 'Jim's got his own problems, Trixie.'

'What?' Immediately her attention narrowed.

'You must have been aware he's been starving himself,' Peter offered.

'Yes,' mournfully, Trixie nodded, her strength returning at the mention of her family, 'to save Jamie and me.'

'He's very weak,' Brain explained. 'A military team found you. They couldn't take you to Fort Eustis. Instead they transported you to the nearest maternity hospital. Jim got medevac'd to the base. Mr Wheeler's organised for Jim and Jamie to be flown here. They should be arriving any time now.'

'Can you tell us what happened?' Helen's question, asked softly it became a mother's plea to establish what her daughter had been through.

'Later,' determination lanced through Trixie's expression. Feeling stronger all the time, she'd rediscovered her sense of purpose, 'when you're all together. I only want to remember it once.'

'We can wait,' Peter nodded.

'I want my daughter,' Trixie demanded. Looking to the nurse, she picked up the sheet and tried to get out of bed. It didn't take much effort for Brian to restrain his sister. Glaring at him with a hurt expression, Trixie crossed her arms over her chest. 'Don't,' she warned with a dangerous gleam in her eye, 'try and stop me, Brain. I need to know my baby's safe. I need to see Katie with my own eyes. It's not that I don't trust you, I don't trust anyone with my child.'

Jeanie attempted to calm the situation. Trixie wouldn't have it. Determined, she demanded to be taken to the nursery immediately. Realising it might be better to allow a short visit, the attending doctor ordered the nurse to transport her patient to the neonatal ICU.

'You'll have to go on a bed,' warned the doctor.

'I don't care how you get me there,' Trixie looked the man in the eye, her expression that of a lioness protecting her cub, 'just make it quick, or I swear I'll get up and walk there myself.'

While waiting for the staff to arrange equipment, Trixie finally allowed her mind to take in her surroundings. It seemed so strange. Only in the sleeping cave did they have a roof over their head. The florescent lights, dimmed for the late hour, still hurt her eyes. The walls of the room closed her in. Even though she'd been trapped in a space not much bigger for several years, the clinical atmosphere caused apprehension.

Shivering, Trixie Frayne realised she had a lot of adjustments to make. At least she'd experienced this before. It'd take time to get reacquainted with life in the real world. Her mind going to her children, Jamie would be terrified by this unfamiliar environment. He'd never seen a mechanical device, never slept in a bed or worn clothing. Suddenly the tears started streaming down her face as she considered the adjustments her young son would have to cope with.

_If I'm finding it this hard_, Trixie contemplated, _re-joining society, how will a toddler take the transition. The noise alone is frightening in its intensity. I wonder how we manage to block it out. In the hole, all we could here were our own voices and the wind in the trees on the rim. The smells are so unnatural. I wonder what they've been feeding Jamie. Jim's with him, I have to believe he's helping our son overcome the shock._

'We're here,' Jeanie stated, manoeuvring the bed into the nursery.

Looking wildly around, Trixie realised her closed eye missed the entire journey. Her mind occupied with worry, she'd ignored the movement of the bed beneath her. Then she spotted the tiny bundle, wrapped in a pink blanket. The moment Beatrix spied the shock of red hair she knew this to be her daughter.

'Katie,' Trixie held her hands out for her child. 'Hey my little princess,' she cooed opening the swaddling to see all of her, 'you're perfect. I hope you keep your blue eyes.'

Instinct drove Trixie to touch the infants' cheek. Rewarded by an open mouth and sucking response, the mother knew her child needed feeding. Uncaring of the audience, she uncovered a breast. Before the infants nurse could protest, she attached her baby to her breast.

'Good girl,' she cooed as Katie latched on and began to suck, 'you need to drink. Mommy's here and you'll soon meet your daddy and big brother. Let me tell you about them.'

Beaming, Trixie glanced into the startled gazes of her mother, father and brother. Only then did the changes in her circumstances hit her. Looking up, not at bright night stars illuminating the Hell Hole but the cold, impersonal hospital room, she swallowed hard. Three and a half years alone, she'd lost touch with societal norms.

'Hey, Trix,' Mart and Honey appeared at the nursery door, 'I see your up. Jim's demanding to see you.'

'Trix,' the horse tone issued from the wheelchair hidden by Mart's body. Jim pushed the chair to the side of her bed.

'Jim,' Trixie found the tears returning. A hand streaked out, entwining with Jim's. The height difference in their positions wouldn't allow more contact. 'Where's Jamie?' she asked frantically looking around for her missing son.

'Here,' Matthew answered, laying the child in Jim's lap. 'We'll leave you alone for a while. When you're both ready, we'll take you back to your room.'

'I'm not leaving my wife,' Jim glared, daring anyone to protest, 'or family.'

'I wouldn't expect you too,' Grace told her son. 'The doctors have arranged for you to be kept together, in a single room.'

'Dad,' Jim looked to Trixie, who nodded. The instant communication startled the watching family. 'We need to make our marriage official as soon as possible.'

'We can arrange it in the morning,' Matthew agreed.

Although none of them wanted too, the Belden's and Wheeler's left the Frayne family to greet its newest member. Grace and Helen, the last to leave, hovered by the window watching the interaction. Standing side by side, the mother's didn't need to say a word. They understood the trials that lay ahead. Both please to have their children back, the feeling of elation became tempered with anxiety. They silently acknowledged the massive upheaval ahead for all of them.

'It's just the beginning,' Helen whispered.

'The abduction,' Grace agreed, 'everything we went through will be easy compared to this.'

Head in his smart phone, Mart checked both the twitter and facebook accounts he'd set up. Graeme's piece had gone to air four hours ago and the reaction had been well worth the effort. Whistling, he looked up to find the rest of the family wondering at his reaction.

'Don't you ever leave that thing alone,' Brain commented. Handing his brother the phone, he pointed out the number of hits. 'Five thousand, since when?'

'I uploaded the page at three this afternoon,' Mart offered, 'but that's just the statistics for the last hour. The like's hit almost a hundred thousand. Twitter's going crazy. Some have left flowers outside Fort Eustis in support. I have to say, a lot of the comments are very positive, especially as people think Jim and Trix are married.'

'Listen to this,' Honey had her phone open. 'I just hope those poor children are all right. The person responsible for this should be imprisoned down that hole and see how they like it.'

Matthew smiled, 'so,' he commented, his gaze focused on Mart, 'your plan's going to schedule.'

'Yes, Sir,' Mart nodded. 'Honey and I are to appear on DC Breakfast in a few hours. Before we do, there's something we'd like to announce before the public finds out.'

Rolling up her arm, Honey displayed the cotton ball taped to her arm. 'Mart and I are getting married on New Year's Day next year.'

'Traditionally,' Brian couldn't help the dig at his brother's expense, knowing it would break the stunned silence, 'you give your fiancée a ring, but then again, you've always been a cheapskate.'

'I'll make some calls,' Matthew offered, 'and see if we can't have one by the time your due at the studio tomorrow.'

'No need,' Honey smirked.

Shaking his head, Mart smiled back. Taking Honey's left hand out of her pocket, he showed off the diamond. 'It's costume jewellery, until we can get time to shop for the real thing. Right now, Trixie, Jim and their kids need to be our focus. I've got Graeme running the background story on the gun shipment Trixie intercepted years ago. It plays into the investigative piece he's just finished on the links to Fort Eustis, General Brooks and Senator Iraola. The finding will blow the public away and cause both of them to resign once they realise the scandal can't be hushed up and won't die.'

'I'm sure that information you supplied,' Matthew remarked sardonically, 'will lead to an impeachment. Who knew the good Senator had his fingers in so many interesting pies.'

Almost a week ago, Mart offered Matthew proof of Iraola's less than legal business activities. Somehow the information made its way to several politicians from the opposing party. They'd soon be calling for blood with the documents.

'Who, indeed,' Mart returned his future father-in-laws sarcastic expression.


End file.
